Ms. Mary Silva
Specializing in feeding and nutrition.
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 Ask Mary Silva
Introducing Cow's Milk into a Baby's Diet | | | QUESTION | | | Dear Ms. Silva,
My breastfed 10-month-old loves to eat the same foods that we do, as well as all kinds of baby food. I know that babies aren't allowed to have cow's milk until after a year, so where do foods like yogurt, cottage cheese, and cheese fit in the picture?
— Annie in Wheat Ridge, CO | | | ANSWER |
October 24, 2000 | | | Dear Annie,
Your child is old enough to start eating small amounts of all these foods. Pediatricians recommend not giving cow's milk to infants until they are nearly a year old because the small amount of iron in it is not absorbed well by very young babies. Sometimes it can even cause intestinal bleeding. Giving your baby cow's milk too early also might make her more likely to become allergic to milk proteins.
As your baby nears one year of age, she is less likely to develop such problems. It's fine to start giving her a little of cow's-milk-based foods as long as you're careful not to replace foods that contain significant amounts of iron, such as iron-fortified cereal, meats, beans, and peas.
Also, if your family has a strong history of food allergies, you should delay starting your baby on cow's-milk-based foods. Talk things over with her pediatrician to see when it might be safe to start introducing these foods.
— by Mary Silva, M.S., R.D. |
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